Science: The Young Rocketeers

"It was just sitting there," said Johnny Easley, 16, of San Angelo,
Texas, "and all of a sudden it wasn't." Johnny and his friend Billy
Hembree, 17, were sent to a hospital last week with minor injuries
after trying to fly their do-it-yourself rocket, a 2-ft. copper tube
filled with a mixture of zinc dust and sulphur. They lit it and ran.
"It was just like the Flopnik [Vanguard]," said Billy, "going great at
first. Then it just folded." When they returned to investigate, the
rocket exploded. Johnny and Billy were lucky; a few...